RICARDO There's an excited chatter in the air. I can't remember the house being so full of life since my father was alive. I must admit that I kind of like it. I realize now I never stayed in the house because it reminded me too much of days gone by, and even as I hear my mother's laughter coming from the kitchen, I feel a slight tinge of sadness. My father will never be able to see this, me being mated and the house full of light and laughter again. And I may not want pups soon, but one day I would like to see the house filled with a bunch of kids. He would've made a great grandfather. "This is nice, right?" Colt smiles. "Would you have thought we'd be so domesticated a few years back?" I chuckle. "Definitely not." The women enter the dining room with various dishes. "Where's Harry?" Heleni wants to know. "He's on his way back from the hospital with our guest." I reply, smiling as Ianthe takes the seat at my left-hand side. "I can make Harry disappear forever if you'd like li
RICARDO I knock on the door of Genevieve's house, my anger threatening to spill over. Do I have enough evidence? No, probably not, but I've been containing myself ever since we saw the video where she puts something in Harry's drink, that's enough evidence right there. Before I take the door right off its hinges, the door opens and her father looks at me in surprise. "Alpha, what can I do for you?" "I'd like to speak to Genevieve." I brush past him without waiting for an invite, Colt and Harry staying outside to keep guard. "Is something wrong?" Her mother emerges from the kitchen, a concerned look on her face. "Maybe your daughter can enlighten us." I look up the stairs to where I know her bedroom is. I used to sneak in there numerous times. I take the stairs two at a time, her father following me but not putting up an argument. I open her door without knocking, but find the bedroom empty. The same window I used to climb into is wide open and I rush there, but the space next to
RICARDO It's almost two in the morning when I get home, and I'm exhausted. There's still chatter coming from the kitchen and I find my mother and Ianthe there, having coffee. "How is Gianni? His mother called to say he was in the hospital." My mother gets up from her chair, concern and horror in her eyes. If she was to lose another person close to her, I don't know if she will be able to come back from that. "He's stable, for now." I run my hand through my hair in frustration. "They put him in an induced coma to speed up his recovery." "Do they know what happened to him?" Ianthe asks. "Either drugs or poison, they're running tests to see what is in his system." "It's really weird that people close to us are dying, Ricky." My mother says softly and she's right. Ianthe was right too, that this has nothing to do with her and everything to do with me. Miriam's words about a better Alpha keeps on reverberating through my mind. The question is, are they trying to dethrone me? Make m
IANTHE Bridgitte is looking at me suspiciously and I can feel my face getting hotter under her scrutinizing gaze. It doesn't help that Ricardo is either touching me or kissing me every time he sees me, even though his mother is in the room. She must think I'm a hussy or something. Seventeen and letting her son fondle me. And Goddess, how he fondles. I can still feel the scrape of his five 'o clock shadow between my thighs from when he ate me out until my thighs quivered. I literally passed out after he gave me a second orgasm. Now it seems as if Bridgitte can see all of this written all over my face. "There's still some cake left from last night. Can I take it with me to the hospital?" She aks me, but here eyes are still searching my face. I clear my throat. "Of course, I can bake another flavor if you'd like, maybe something lemony?" She smiles softly and my nerves ease a little. "That's very sweet of you, but you don't have to go through all that trouble." "It's no trouble at
IANTHE I jump out of the car before Randall has a chance to properly brake, air whooshing in my ears. From a distance I hear everyone shouting, but I don't stop to listen, my instinct going to the driver's side of the crumpled up vehicle by the side of the road. My wolf's listening picks up the sound of loud moaning until one of the doors are kicked off, but it's Harry that exits and not the man I hope. The ache is still distinct in my chest, but not as prominent as back at the house. "Ricardo!" I shout anxiously as I reach his side and reach my hand inside to touch his battered-up face. His head is slung back on the headrest, his eyes closed and a ton of tiny cuts covers his skin, most likely from the shattered windshield. I'm pushed back by strong arms and I would've protested if I didn't see Randall and Mark trying to get his door open. Thank the Goddess for their wolf strength because they manage to rip the door off and pull his lifeless body unto the asphalt. I shove past t
RICARDO I died today. My life literally flashed before my eyes, images from my childhood, discovering Daemon, my father's death, meeting Ianthe, those sweet moments we got to spend together. Everything played behind my eyelids like a movie. In the last part I was in a lavender field, in utter peace, but I was alone. Then like a vision my mate appeared, running towards me with a blinding smile and I came back. Back to her. Someone is pulling out all the stops to fuck with me, but they clearly don't know my biggest weapon is the girl that is currently curled into my side, her arm tight around my middle like I might disappear in an instant. Today I died, but it sure will be my last fucking time. I leave a whisper-soft kiss on Ianthe's forehead and carefully extricate myself from her so she doesn't wake up. I don't bother getting dressed because it's early morning hours and I'm sure no one is awake, but I find Harry in the kitchen nursing a bottle of bourbon. Not my drink of ch
IANTHE My hand is gripped tightly in Ricardo's as we make our way to the funeral of The Wisher. "Are you sure it's a good idea that I come?" I ask for what must be the seventh time. His thumb strokes languidly over the back of my hand, those greys looking like they're melting as he takes in my face. "I want you by my side." His sure voice sends tingles down my spine. I know as soon as we get out of the car, his hand will no longer hold mine in the public. My birthday has never been so slow to arrive as it does this year. There's something different to Ricardo today. I know he went out early this morning, at first I thought he went to take Daemon out for his daily run, but when he returned he smelled like a woman's perfume. I found it odd, but I didn't feel jealous. I instinctively know he only has eyes for me. Now he seems lighter somehow, the lines between his eyebrows that were permanently scowling smoothed out. I can't believe I almost lost him just yesterday. I'm still tha
RICARDO I sit up in bed and look at the woman lying next to me. She's not being herself, I sensed something was off ever since we returned from the funeral. I had to have a meeting with Harry and Colt to discuss the new developments, so she went to bed by herself like she does most nights. Tonight has been different though. She didn't immediately cuddle up to me as soon as I laid down, and she's usually peaceful when she sleeps. Tonight she's been tossing and turning. I know her well enough to know that something is bothering her. Consciously or unconsciously. "Hey." I shake her shoulder gently and she opens her eyes immediately, turning towards me. "What's wrong?" She frowns, her voice a little bit rough from sleep. "I should ask you that, you've been tossing and turning the whole night." She throws an arm over her eyes, shielding that exquisite face from me. "I'm sorry, did I wake you? You must be tired after everything." I'm tired, yes, from all the shit that has been goin
IANTHE I find Heleni standing in front of the lake, her arms crossed protectively over her chest and tears glistening in her eyes. I lay my hand on her back in a soothing manner. "Are you okay?" She shakes her head and sniffs. "I can't believe Harry thought I killed Genevieve." I take in a deep breath. "He found you standing over her body. You have to admit it looked suspicious." She turns her face fully to me, and I see the gut-wrenching hurt in her eyes. "We're supposed to be mated in two days. How can I get mated to someone who doesn't even trust what I say?" I frown, feeling the reluctance coming off her waves. "What are you saying, Heleni? " There have been times when wolves rejected their mates, but I have always been a firm believer that what the Moon Goddess decided, we shouldn't ignore or break. She looks at me with heartbreak in her eyes and the muscles around my heart clench in despair. "I don't think I can be mated to someone who doesn't trust me." She whispers.
IANTHE I watch as Ricardo tries to calm down his uncle who seems to be having a nervous breakdown. I can't blame the guy. Life has been pretty shitty for him lately. Instead of his son graduating, he's in the hospital looking like a shadow of his former self. I know stuff in this pack hasn't been happening because of me. Whatever is transpiring here has been happening way before I came here, yet I still feel guilty. Gosh, we lost Randall today. A searing pain goes through my heart at the thought of him losing his life because he was trying to keep me safe. I know it was his job, but it doesn't make the loss any easier to bear. How many more will lay down their lives for mine? I'm so busy wallowing in self-pity that I don't even notice Heleni until she touches my arm. "Hey, are you okay?" She's wearing a worried expression on her face. "Harry told me about what happened." I nod. "I'm okay, what about you? You haven't been around much." There's a flash of guilt in her e
RICARDO "This is gonna be a shit storm." Harry rubs his eyes. "I'm getting mated in two days, I swear I'm going to wear wrinkles on the most important day of my life." I stare up at the ceiling of my office, hoping that somehow the Moon Goddess would just make things a tad bit easier for me and send me the answers that I need. "Why didn't you just restrain the fucker or something." Harry rambles on. "That way he could've confessed to the pack himself what he's been doing all these years. He was respected, no way the pack is just going to accept our explanantion." I get up from my chair and run both of my hands through my hair. What I wouldn't give for a vacation right about now. Preferably somewhere tropical, isolated, just Ianthe and me. "I'm the alpha of this pack, aren't I?" I turn towards my best friend who is pacing the length of my office, "If they're going to believe someone, it should be me." "You better hope so, we don't know how many followers he had." And that's my b
RICARDO My blood is boiling in my veins and I rip my shirt off to breathe a bit easier. All I see is red as I look down at Gus's lifeless, naked body on my kitchen floor, his head that I ripped straight off staring at me. I completely lost it when I saw him up against Ianthe, naked and grabbing her like he had a right to. Nobody touches her but me. She's looking at me like I've gone crazy, and maybe I have. This is not the way I intended to deal with Gus. I had a plan, we were gonna get all the information we could out of Genevieve, find out how her family is involved and why. Now I have a dead man lying by my feet and a mate that's looking at me like I might kill her next. There's a banging on the front door and next thing I know Harry and Colt are in the kitchen, looking from me, to the headless Gus, and then to Ianthe. "What the hell happened!" Harry shouts, frantically pointing at Gus. "I thought we had a plan." "Oh my Goddess." Ianthe sobs, her hand going to her throat. "I
IANTHE I'm restless. I've watched too many movies where I didn't even know what was going on. I've tried reading up on investing, but to be honest it doesn't even interest me anymore. I'm used to being alone and bored, but now I know what it's like to have friends and company and most importantly, having someone to call my own. Only that someone has done his best to avoid me. I still sleep in his bed every single night, waiting like a dutiful wife, but lately he's been spending all his time in his home office or he's out somewhere with Harry and Colt. I'm craving his attention, even if it's just him holding me to his hard body at night. Maybe he's having an affair. But does it even qualify as an affair if we're not mated yet? I turn eighteen in two weeks. I'm both nervous and excited. What if something happens and we don't end up being mated? My life has surely not been easy, I lose important people all the time. What if I lose him? But what if I don't? What if we
RICARDO "No offense, but you need to get laid." Harry is looking at me like I've grown two heads after I told him that I thought he might be in on whatever is transpiring in the pack. He's been my best friend forever, I was stupid to even think he would ever betray me like that. "I feel like my intuition has not been the best." I run my hand through my hair, tugging the strands in frustration. Harry hums. "Maybe that's why the Moon Goddess sent Ianthe when she did, to help you with that." He might be right. Her being here might be intentional. Her being here is also the cause of the worst blue balls I've ever experienced before. I sigh as I drop into the chair behind my desk. "I didn't think being Alpha would be this exciting after my dad's reign." Harry smirks. "Yeah, but boring is no fun now, is it? Try to get some rest, I'll see you in a few hours at the jail." Yes, it's time we get to the bottom of Genevieve's involvement at least. I still have a cousin in a hospi
RICARDO Daemon is scratching at my collarbone to get out and get loose. He wants to be let free to terrorize the very town that we laid our lives on the line for. All we ever did was keep this town safe, protected from unwanted terrors. Now the very town I fought so hard for is stabbing me in the back. I don't know who I can trust anymore. If Ianthe says something is up with Gus, then something is up with Gus. And I went and jeopordized it all when I told the council she was a White Wolf. How stupid could I be? I thought we all had the same endgame in mind. I guess I was wrong. The joke's on me. I smell Harry way before I see him. "Care to tell me why I had to run all the way to the other side of the town?" There's a slight complaint in his voice, but next thing he knows, my hand is around his neck, and I'm jacking him up a tree. His hand grabs mine, but I'm way stronger than him, even more so now that I have Ianthe. There's a question and a slight sign of fear as my hand tight
RICARDO I sit up in bed and look at the woman lying next to me. She's not being herself, I sensed something was off ever since we returned from the funeral. I had to have a meeting with Harry and Colt to discuss the new developments, so she went to bed by herself like she does most nights. Tonight has been different though. She didn't immediately cuddle up to me as soon as I laid down, and she's usually peaceful when she sleeps. Tonight she's been tossing and turning. I know her well enough to know that something is bothering her. Consciously or unconsciously. "Hey." I shake her shoulder gently and she opens her eyes immediately, turning towards me. "What's wrong?" She frowns, her voice a little bit rough from sleep. "I should ask you that, you've been tossing and turning the whole night." She throws an arm over her eyes, shielding that exquisite face from me. "I'm sorry, did I wake you? You must be tired after everything." I'm tired, yes, from all the shit that has been goin
IANTHE My hand is gripped tightly in Ricardo's as we make our way to the funeral of The Wisher. "Are you sure it's a good idea that I come?" I ask for what must be the seventh time. His thumb strokes languidly over the back of my hand, those greys looking like they're melting as he takes in my face. "I want you by my side." His sure voice sends tingles down my spine. I know as soon as we get out of the car, his hand will no longer hold mine in the public. My birthday has never been so slow to arrive as it does this year. There's something different to Ricardo today. I know he went out early this morning, at first I thought he went to take Daemon out for his daily run, but when he returned he smelled like a woman's perfume. I found it odd, but I didn't feel jealous. I instinctively know he only has eyes for me. Now he seems lighter somehow, the lines between his eyebrows that were permanently scowling smoothed out. I can't believe I almost lost him just yesterday. I'm still tha